Construction of railways



(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 1.

F. W. WOOD & J. FOWLER.

CONSTRUCTION OF RAIL-WAYS.

N0. 386,732. Patented July 24, 1888.

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P. W. WOOD 82 J. FOWLER.

CONSTRUCTION OF RAILWAYS.

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F. W. WOOD & J. FOWLER.

CONSTRUCTION OF RAILWAYS.

Patented Jul 24, 1888.

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UNrTan STATES PATENT @rrree.

FRED vV. XVOOD AND JOHN FOXVLER, OF LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA.

CONSTRUCTION OF' RAILWAYS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 386,732, dated July 24, 1888.

(No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, FRED \V. \VOOD and JOHN FOWLER, citizens of the United States, residing at Los Angeles, in the county of Los Angeles and State of California, have invented a new and useful Improvement in the Construction of Railways, of which the following is a specification.

Our invention relates to the roadway, tube, and cable-carrying apparatus ol'cablc railways, and is also adapted for use in electrical railways having underground conduits.

The cost of substantial, firm, and rigid cable road-beds as now constructed is very great, and various forms ofconstruetion have been devised for use on roads where the revenue expected to be derived does not warrant a large outlay. These cheaper forms of construction have proven objectionable for the reason that they depend upon perishable material so disposed as to require frequent renewal; also, the roads are not rigid and thescveral parts are liable to move independently, thus throwing the road into bad shape for operation, varying the width of the slot and the gage of the road. \Vhen such roads become subject to heavier travel, it is found necessary to discard the material used in the cheaper road and construct the road anew to increase its capacity.

One object of our invention is to provide a slot-rail simple in construction and of a new and improved form, which will not be liable to be displaced by the weight of heavy vehicles.

A further object is to produce a substantial, firm, durable, and rigid road-bed adapted to be constructed at comparatively small cost with or without pavement or permanent tubing, so that if it is first constructed without such paving or tubing it can afterward be provided with either or both without excessive costand without discarding the material previously The accompanying drawings ill ustrate our invention.

Figure 1 shows an elevation of one of the yokes used in our improved construction. This view is shown as a cross section of a single-track road, and the pulley on the yoke beyond is shown in position with the cable in place thcreon,while the pulley mounted on the yoke shown is drawn in cross-section to show that it is fixed upon its shaft f. Figs. 2, 3, and 4 illustrate the improved hanger and box for the sustainirig-pulleys. Fig. 5 is a cross section of our improved roadbcd, showing one of the tracks of a double-track road. Fig. 6 is a detail showing our improved slot-rail in crosssection on line Z Z, Fig. 7. Fig. 7 is a top view of ascction of the slot-rail and illustrates the device for adjusting thesame. Fig. 8 is a perspective view of ourimproved washer for clamping the track-rail to the yoke. Fig. 9 is a top view of section of our improved road. Fig. 10 is aplan viewota section of the single-track road, the top of the roadway being broken away to expose the cables and pulleys. Fig. 11 is a cross-section of the slot-rail near one end thereof, showing the mannerofsecuring the slot-rails together by fish-plates. Fig. 12 is a longitudinal horizontal section of aportion of the slot-rail on the line indicated by a a, Fig. 6. Fig. 13is a broken section on line (1 d, Fig. 1, showing the upper edge of the planking H.

In order to secure perfect rigidity, combined with comparatively cheap construction, we have invented a new and improved yoke, A, formed of asingle casting, having through its center and upper side an opening, D, for the tube and slot, and having at its top, upon each side of the opening D, a horizontal arm, 0, having seats B and O on the top thereol, upon which to place the track and slot rails. The arms 0 are below the level of the trackrail seats B and slotrail seats 0, so that when the rails are secured in place upon their seats there will be a large amount of space above the casting and below the top of the rails for the paving or top dressing ot' the street, thus avoiding the danger of fracturing the castings by allowing them to be well protected by the street paving or topdrcssing.

The seats 13 B for the track-rails are at the outer sides of the yoke, and the seats G for the slot-rails are located immediately upon either side of the mouth of the tube-opening D. The side arms, h h, of the casting extend downward from the seats 00 and diverge from the mouth of the opening D, so that the opening is sufficiently wide at the bottom to allow the sustaining pulleys E to be mounted therein, while the mouth of the opening Dis nearly closed, being but little more than wide enough to admit the gripper apparatus of the dummy.

Flanges F project from the face of the web of the arms h along the inclined inner edges thereof, which form the walls of the tube-opening D, and a corresponding flange, X, projects from the face of the web of the casting formin; the bottom of the tubeopening D.

The floor of the tube is formed by sheets of iron, R, laid upon the flanges X. Brackets G are provided at the lower end of the flanges F to sustain planking H, which is rested thereon and leaned against the flanges F and there held by the force of gravity to form the walls of the tube. The top plank is made to fit closely against the flange V of the slot rail which is secured to the seats 0, so as to prevent any earth from passing into the tubes between the slot-rail and the planking. The walls of the tube thus formed are nearly vertical, so that when earth is filled in around the tube the planking will have to sustain but little more than the lateral pressure of the earth which fills the trench.

The yoke A is braced by a strengtheningweb, I, underneath the tube-opening D, and when placed in the earth the yoke forms a firm and rigid foundation for the track-rails and slot-rails.

The flanges F are gradually broadened at their lower ends, J, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2, and are beveled from their faces inward toward the web h of the yoke, as shown in Fig. 3, which is a cross-section on line as a, of Fig. 2.

We mount the sustaining-pulleys E- upon hangers M, which fit-upon the dovetail portion Jof the' flanges. The height at which the hangers are held will depend upon the size of the channel formed in the hangers to fit upon the dovetailed portions J of the flanges. In the drawings the hangers are formed to place the pulleys at the lowest point possible. By making the channel in the hanger narrower the hanger will be supported at a higher point. Each pulley is fixed upon a shaft,f, the ends of which are journaled in boxes K. These boxes are seated in chambers L in the hangers M. The chambers L are larger than the boxes K, and we provide a channel, N,across the bottom of the box, and provide a rib, O, projecting upward from the bottom of the chamber L somewhat greater in height than the channel N is in depth and somewhat narrower in crosssection than the channel N, so that when the box K is placed in position in the chamber L it will rest upon the rib O,

rails. with the lip U over the flange'of the rail,and

projecting'into the channel N, and'will be free 7 to move slightly to change the plane of revolution of the pulley. The purpose of this contrivance is to allow the pulley to adjust itself to the direction of the cable. Where the pulleys are set rigidly, it is necessary that the alignment of the pulley be exact, for if the axle of the pulley is not at right angles to the cable the cable will be caused to cut diagonally across the face of the pulley, thus creating great friction and wearing the cable and pulley unnecessarily. By means of this device the rotation of the pulley, together with the friction of the cable,will throw the pulley into proper alignment.

The track-rails P P and slot-rails Q Q'are bolted to the several yokes. A sheet of iron, R, is laid to form the bottom of the tube and rests upon the flanges X of the castings A at the bottom of the opening D. The planks H are set in place upon the shelves G and leaned against the flanges F, where they are held by gravity. In case it is desired to avoid expense, earth is now filled in around the yokes and under the sheet-iron R, and the trench is then partially filled with earth. Broken stone or other ballast may then be thrown into the top of the trench to form a solid bed for the portions of the rails lying between the yokes. After the earth and broken stone are thoroughly tamped in place, the top surface may be paved or top-dressed in any way desired.

When it is desired to make the road more perfect, the earth surrounding the tube may be removed and the space filled in with cementconcrete. The planking H and sheet-iron casing ofthe tube will sustain and give form to the concrete, which, when set, will form a continuous artificial-stone tube and road-bed. If preferred, the planking and sheet-iron may be dispensed with and suitable forms be temporarily used to hold the concrete in place until it becomes set.

In order to make it convenient to remove the track-rails, the bolts S, which secure the rails in place, are passed upward through the rail-seats and the nuts are screwed on at the top. In order to clamp the rails firmly to their seats, we provide the washer T, having on one side a projecting lip, U, formed to fit over the edge of the bottom flange of the This washer is placed upon the bolt the nutis scre'wed'down thereupon,thus clamp= ing the rail firmly to its seat. The washer T 7 receives the jar of the rail and serves as a nutlock as well as a clamp.

7 It is especially desirable that there be no projections on the yoke extending near the surface of thestreet, so as to be liable to be struck by the wheels of vehicles, and thus be broken. Our improved construction avoids the necessity of any such projections. The top arm, e, of the yoke connecting the seats Band C is depressed below the level of such seats. This brings the arm several inches below the surface of the street, so that it will be perfectly protected by the paving material or the broken stone used for ballast.

The slot-rail O is rolled to the form shown, having two flanges projecting from one side, and having the other side made of such shape as may be desirable to form one side of the slot. The lower flange, V, is Wider than the upper flange, V, of the slot-rail, and the web Q of the rail between the two flanges is at an obtuse angle with the under face of the lower flange, so that a vertical line from the edge of the upper flange will intersect thelower flange near the point of its junction with the web of the rail, thus leaving the greater portion of the lower flange projecting outward from beneath the upper flange. By this contrivance the weight of a wheel striking upon the upper flange will be sustained by the lower flange through the intervening paving or street-surface,and will serve to prevent the rail from being wrenched out of positionthat is to say, before the wheel of a vehicle can strike against the narrow upper flange, V, the weight of the wheel will rest upon the broad bottom flange, V, through the intervening paving or streetsurface, and the weight of the wheel pressing down upon the flangeV will hold the rail from turning. One object of the upper flange, V, is to protect the edge of concrete, bituminous lime-rock, or asphalt pavement. Another object of the flange V is to distribute the strain of any weightwhich may press downward upon the top of the rail, and prevent the rail from springing sidewise.

The paving material, when in place, will cover the lower flange entirely,and thus serve to hold the rail in place, while the upper flange projects far enough over the paving material to prevent its edge from being broken.

In order to give greater strength to the web of the rail, we provide at intervals ribs 7, projecting from the web and extending between the flanges. The bolts which clam p the slot-rails to their seats are set inclined outward upwardly, so as to brace against the strain of the lower flange when the slotrail is pressed inward by wheels striking against the upper flange.

Figs. (5 and 7 illustrate the means employed by us to allow the slot-rails to be shifted. Two oblong holes, Y Y, having their greatest axes at right angles to the axis of the slot-rail, are provided in the bottom flangc,V, ofthe slotrail at each of the points where the slotrails rest upon a yoke. One of the holes is closer to the web of the slot-rail than the other.

The holes Z in the slot-rail seats are equidistantfrom the inner side of the seat 0 and are circular.

\Vhen the road is built,bolts S S are passed through the holes Y,Y,and Z and secured by nuts. 1f the slot-rail is laid at right angles with the yokes, the bolt S will fit against the inner wall of the hole Y, and the bolt S will fit against the outer side of the hole Y. iVhen it is desired to spring the slot-rail in to narrow the slot,the bolt S may be removed, thus allowing the rail to be sprung.

If it is desired to spring the rail out to widen the slot,the bolt S is removed. A key may then be inserted in the space between the bolt and the wall of the hole Z to hold the rail in place.

In Fig. 5,y represents concrete or asphalt paving. 7n represents broken stone ballast, and it represents the earth.

Now, having described our invention, what we claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-- 1. The combination of the yoke provided with the dovetailed and downwardly-broad ened flanges J J, the hangers M M, channeled to fit upon the flanges J and provided with a seat for the boxing of the pulleyshaft, the pulley-shaft boxing, and the pulley'shaft.

2. The combination of the yoke A, provided with the downwardly-broadened flanges J J, and the hanger M, channeled to fit upon the flanges J J.

3. The improved cable roadway and tube comprising the yoke provided with the tubeopening D, the downwardlydiverging side arms, It h, provided with the flanges F F and brackets G, the top arms, 0 6, having the trackrail seats 13 B and slotrail seats 0 O, the planking H H, slot-rails Q Q, secured to the seats O, and the track-rails P, secured to the seats B.

4. The combination of the hangers M M, provided with the chamber L and the upwardly-projecting rib O at the bottom ot'such chamber, the box K, smaller than the chamber L and provided with the groove N, the pulley E, and its axle.

5. Aslotrail comprising the web of the rail, having at the top thereof a narrow flange projecting from one side of such web,and having a broad flange at the base of such web projecting from the same side of the web as the top flange, and at such an angle with the web that avertical line drawn from the edge of the top flange will intersect the bottom flange approximately at the base ot' its junction with the web.

FRED \V. WOOD. JOHN FOWLER.

Witnesses:

Jns. R. TOWNSEND, ED. J. SMITH.

ICO 

